Weaponized government

Barack Obama weaponized the government for use against his political opponents. The IRS, Operation Chokepoint, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, etc. He was, of course, planning on handing that over to Hillary. Oops.

Apparently, weaponizing the government is just what democrats do: Unable to Ban Guns, Lawmakers Want to Weaponize the ATF Against Gun Dealers

As to their big plan:

Ostensibly, the “Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act” (a name that maintains the congressional tradition of pompous bullshit) is aimed at “gun dealers who engage in illegal sales practices,” which is to say it’s supposed to make it more illegal to do illegal stuff. This isn’t a new practiceRepresentatives Ted Deutch (D Fla), Jim Langevin (D R.I.), and Gwen Moore (D Wis.) are hardly alone among lawmakers in thinking that what the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world (although we should take a few countries’ official numbers with a grain of salt) needs is more people behind bars. And these three are also in good company in thinking that augmenting legal penalties with arbitrary harassment is the key to a better world.

Bump stock stuff

The CSM: With lack of incentives, few Americans are giving up their bump stocks

Why would they?

Of course, if the proposed federal ban on them, in which the bureaucracy is making up law from nothing, goes through, a lot more people will be ex post facto criminals.

IIRC, after ATF arbitrarily decided to ban the Akins Accelerator, they got a warrant for the sales records from the company. Then mailed letters to those who had purchased them to remove a spring. So, did you buy a Slidfire? They’ve shut down by the way. I did. Did you pay cash? I didn’t. So, I imagine at some point in the future, presuming the ban goes through, I’ll get such a letter.

I plan on turning mine over to my attorney while we discuss legal options.

I’m sure the ATF will get right on this

Some idiot decided to destroy his AR-15 after the Florida shooting to keep a gun off the street or something. The problem for this guy is that he just cut the barrel. That gun can still fire. But it won’t cycle. So he has, inadvertently, made a short barreled rifle, which is illegal.

Grassroots v. astroturf

The Trace, on noting that only 13% of respondents to ATF’s bumpstock request support gun control, gets a little butthurt:

The results of our analysis showcase a paradox of the gun debate. While widespread public support exists for many gun regulations and policies from bump stocks to background checks pro-gun advocates are significantly more active than their counterparts when it comes to engaging politicians and government agencies.

That’s because our side actually has a grassroots movement. You don’t. People are passionate about rights. Less so about infringing on them.

Making it up as they go for political posturing

Tomorrow, ATF will publish an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the application of the definition of machinegun to Bump Fire stocks and other similar devices. As many have feared, it appears that the regulatory agency is soliciting information to help draft a rule which may potentially lump bump fire stocks, binary triggers, etc., within the definition of machinegun.

The banned played on

Possessing firearm parts that are used exclusively in converting a weapon into a machine gun is illegal, except for certain limited circumstances, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said in a joint statement. Today we begin the process of determining whether or not bump stocks are covered by this prohibition.

Bipartisan bill to regulate bump stocks

The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act. It’s not a loophole, unless loophole means something we don’t like. As to the bill, it looks like it would classify the devices as NFA items, subject to the $200 tax and all that. The bill was written with ATF “guidance and advice”.

This looks like a better* of other proposals that could outlaw after market triggers.

And, as I’ve said before, if this passes, gun owners need to get something in return.

* I’m using that word loosely. It’s still a dumb law. But at least it looks like it’s written by someone who isn’t ignorant of current law.

The NRA and bumpstocks

Jacob Sullum points out that the NRA is playing a dangerous game on this bumpstock business:

The NRA opposes a legislative ban on bump stocks but wants the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to reconsider the question of whether they are legal. The administrative approach favored by the NRA invites unelected bureaucrats to rewrite a statute for political purposes, undermining the rule of law and the separation of powers.

*snip*

The NRA has tried to divert that response by urging the ATF to “immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.” On Face the Nation last week, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre noted that “it’s illegal to convert a semiautomatic to a fully automatic,” adding, “We think ATF ought to do its job, look at this, and draw a bright line.”

As a wookie-suiter myself, I agree with his point. However, I think NRA’s motivation is more political. And brilliant. They throw the blame at the Obama administration. Take the popular view on bumpstocks. And get in a jab at ATF. And it panders to the Trump base.

The conspiratorial side of me can’t rule out they took this position because they don’t want to put it to a congressional that vote they’d later have to grade.

The ATF is correct

The fallout and eventual attempt to legislate these away (which seems to be ATF’s goal, as opposed to NRA who thinks ATF should reevaluate their ruling) will be interesting. If legislated away, what happens to those already in possession? I mean, you cannot add new machine guns to the registry. And you can’t have an ex post facto law banning these things, I would think. I’m not a lawyer. But I recall when ATF changed its mind on the Akins Accelerator. People got to keep the stocks but had to turn in the springs.

NRA calls on ATF to re-evaluate bump stocks

No, I don’t think a ban is a good thing. If we ban those, we’d need to ban rubber bands and boards. But here’s the statement. Based on the statement, I’m presuming they see the writing on the wall. They do not call for a ban. The want the ATF to look at the issue again. They also point out that it was Obama’s ATF that gave the OK to bump stocks. And it gives a nod to national reciprocity. Overall, it’s a pretty brilliant approach to it.

I think these things will be banned. I think it’s stupid to ban them. However, a derpy product that I didn’t want a week ago and still don’t want now is not exactly the fight I’m willing to focus on. As I said before, if they ban this then the pro-gun side better get something out of it. You know, compromise and all that. And we should go for reciprocity and if we add bump stocks to the NFA, we should remove silencers. The Second Amendment Foundation seems to agree.

Well, the story is the same now only replace box with tube. Bumpfiring is an effective way of turning money into noise. It’s ineffective at shooting accurately. These bumpfire gizmos are basically tubes that go over some part of the gun. And some have springs in them. They’re simple. The loon in Vegas had 12 bumpfire stocks.

So, obviously we must ban them. That law was written by someone who knows absolutely nothing about guns or gun laws. Are we going to ban rubber-bands too? How about shoestrings? A lot of folks can bumpfire without the assistance of a device. It’s not hard. Just takes some practice.

Now, of all the proposed gun laws the democrats and press (but I repeat myself) are going on about out there, I think this one is most likely to pass due to the hysteria from those ignorant of how these things work. And if it does, the pro-gun side damn well better get something in return. Or the Republicans will lose a lot of voters.

ATF on the AutoGlove: Nope

Mentioned the AutoGlove a bit back. It’s a contraption the pulls the trigger really fast. Well, the ATF has come out and said it’s not legal. It’s the same non-logic that lead to certain actuators being dubbed no go in the past.

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